Ecosystem Health

The use of a goal such as ecosystem health to guide fishery management forces resource scientists and managers to define ecosytem states, typically based on historical information reflecting ecosystem structure and yield.

Ecosystem Report to Congress, 1999

Defining a "healthy" ecosystem is not an easy task. Managers can look back at the historical structure and function of a system then use this "healthy" state as a baseline to quantify subsequent degradation. A more feasible approach, involves identifying the "unhealthy" states of an ecosystem that should be avoided, i.e. preventing low biodiversity, high estuarine nutrient levels, low mean trophic levels, etc.

To develop indices of ecosystem health for the South Atlantic, the Council has identified critical research needs. Among them are:

National Benthic Inventory (NBI) - The NBI consists of a quantitative database on benthic species distributions and a corresponding taxonomic reference collection of preserved benthic specimens obtained from studies conducted by NOAA and partnering institutions.